Coal-bucket plow



Patented Apr. 14, 1925. i

NORMAN H. MCCLEVEY, OF PETERSBURG, INDIANA.

COAL-BUCKET PLOW.

Application filed January 12, y1925. Serial Nro. 2,017.

.To all whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, NonMaN H. hIoCLnvnY,

a citizen ofl the United States, residing` at Petersburg, in the county of Pike and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Coal-Bucket Plows, of which the following isl a speciiication.

This invention is an improvement on the bucket for loading coal shown and described in my application for patent filed July 14, 1921, Serial No. 725,852, wherein the inclined plate on the back of the bucket had a tendency when the empty bucket was travellingback for a new load to ride upon and crush any lump coal in the path of the bucket resulting from spillage in the forward travel of the loaded bucket and there was no means provided for returning the spillage to the down coal to be gathered.

The object of `this invention is to substitute an attachment to the bucket, in place of the inclined plate, which will Jut the spillage from the previous trip of the loaded bucket, back in the down coal to be gathered thereby keeping the mine clean and avoiding the crushing of the spilled lump coal into fine coal of materially less commercial value.

vI accomplish the above, and other minor objects which will hereinafter appear, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichf Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of my improved coal bucket with the former inclined plate on the back end of the bucket removed and a plow-like attachment substituted therefor, and Fig. 2, is a top plan view of the same.

The bucket comprises two parallel and vertical sheet metal sides 3, 3, which are rigidly held in their spaced relation to each other by a solid sheet metal rear end 4, and by a channel bar 5 in front, extending transversely of the bucket. The front end of the bucket, below the channel bar is substantially open for the entrance of loose downcoal when the bucket is drawn against it, and the bottom of the bucket is likewise open for the discharge by gravity ofthe coal in the bucket when the latter is drawn upon a platform having a suitable opening.

Runner plates 6, having forwardly and upwardly sloping lower edges are attached to the sides 3, 3 to cause the bucket to ride over fixed lumps of coal and to keep the bucket 4from digging into the floor of the mine onthe iloiwvard travel of the loaded bucket.

A horizontal plate 7, is attached to the channel'bar 5 and has a series of holes for the attachment of a cable bywhich the bucket is drawn forward; and a similar plate 8, also having a series of holes for the attachment of a cable by which the bucket is drawn back for reloading, is attached to the rear end 4 of the bucket.

Below the plate 8 and removably secured to the bucket-end 1 by bolts 9, is a plow-attachment 10. This has a vertical sheet metal wall 11, the outer face of which is in the same plane with th'e outer face of the adjacent bucket-side 3. It also has a vertical sheetanetal wall 12 which extends obliquely from the corner of the bucket opposite wall 11 to the outer end of the wall 11, and the outer angle is braced by a, fillet plate 13. The oblique wall 12, is on that side of the plow which is toward the main mass of down coal to be gathered by the bucket, here shown as on the left hand side of the bucket. But when the coal to be gathered is on the right hand side of the bucket the left hand plow is removed by unbolting it and a plow with a side sloping in the opposite direction is substituted.

In either case, that is, whether the plowattachment be right or left handed, its bottom is sloped upwardly from the rear end of the b-ucket, and the outer lower corner of the plow-bottom is rounded as shown in Fig. 1, to keep it from digging into the floor of the mine. v

.ln the operation of my invention, all of the coal in the path of. an empty bucket drawn bac-k rear-end first, to the place of beginning of the coal gathering operation, is pushed out of the path of the bucket, in advance of the latter, and over to the main mass of down coal to be gathered and moved by the bucket. The way is kept clean and the breaking and grinding of lumps spilled from the bucket in its forward travel is avoided.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The combination, with a coal gathering bucket, of a. plowhaving an oblique side which extends from one side of the path of the bucket to the other.

2. The combination, with a coal gathering` bucket having a closed end, of a plow extending rearwardly of the end and having an oblique side.

3. The combination, with a coal gathering bucket having a closed end and a pairof sides at least one of which is substantially at right angles to the end, of a plow extending rearwardly of the end, and having an oblique member reaching from the plane of one bucket side to the plane of the other.

l. The combination, with a coal gathering bucket having parallel sides and al transverse end, of a plow extending rearwardly of the end and having an oblique member extending across the path of the bucket.

The combination, with a coal gathering bucket having parallel sides and a rear end at right angles to the sides, of a plow removably secured to the end and comprising a side the outer aceot1 which is in the plane of the outer face of one of the sides of the bucket and a plow side oblique to the irst plow side and extending from the opposite corner of the bucket to the far end of the first plow side.

6. T he combination, with a coal gathering bucket, of a plow having an oblique side which extends across the path of the bucket. and having an upwardly and rearwardly sloping bottom.

7. The combination, with a coal gathering bucket, of a detachable plow having an oblique side extending across the path of the bucket and having an `upwardly and;

rearwardly sloping bottom.

Signed at Petersburg, county of Pike,

State of Indiana, this the 6th day of Janul ary, 1925.

NORMAN H. MCCLEVEY. 

